Jeffrey Epstein Files: New Mexico District Attorney Warns 'Critical' Evidence Is 'Degrading' Amid Department of Justice Delay

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez ripped into the Department of Justice for withholding unredacted access to files related to s-- offender Jeffrey Epstein, claiming the delay is affecting justice for survivors and "degrading" evidence as time goes by.

“Every day that the USDOJ withholds these records, the foundation upon which a New Mexico prosecution could be built erodes,” Torrez, 50, addressed Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in a scathing letter on June 30, which was obtained by a news outlet on Thursday, July 9.

"Witnesses relocate and become unreachable. Memories, already strained by years of trauma, fade further," the district attorney said of the "critical" pieces of information. "Physical and documentary evidence degrades, is lost, or is rendered more difficult to authenticate with the passage of time."

Torrez is among a growing number of critics who have taken aim at the Department of Justice's handling of the files after Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025. The first major batch of files was released on December 19, 2025.

Much of the material was heavily redacted, which prompted criticism from survivors and lawmakers.

The files included a 2019 email received by a local radio host that "somewhere in the hills outside the Zorro, two foreign girls were buried on orders of Jeffrey and Madam G," which reopened a New Mexico criminal probe in February.

The state is reportedly investigating claims of illegal activity surrounding a property Epstein owned near Santa Fe, known as Zorro Ranch.

In his letter, Zorro outlined six different times that the New Mexico Department of Justice reached out to the federal organization to no resolution, including a request to set-up an in-person meeting while the New Mexico D.A. was in Washington, D.C.

“Despite verbal assurances of cooperation from the USDOJ, access to the requested records has not been granted, no substantive response has been provided, and more than 130 days have now elapsed since the (New Mexico Department of Justice’s) initial request,” Torrez continued. “The NMDOJ views this length of time as an unreasonable delay under any rule of reason.”

The Department of Justice responded to Torrez's claims in a statement, alleging the agency "substantively responded last month to requests from the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office.”

“The DOJ reiterates that it welcomes New Mexico undertaking additional investigation of the Zorro Ranch and stands ready to provide necessary assistance with New Mexico’s investigation,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Should that investigation uncover potential Federal crimes, the DOJ will work closely with our law enforcement partners to investigate and, as appropriate, prosecute.”